Worlds That Die Screaming In Flames
by Shade Embry
Summary: Day 3, after 7-8 P.M. 'Yesterday is a promise that you've broken.' - Switchfoot


Worlds That Die Screaming In Flames

Summary: Day 3, 7-8 P.M. 'Yesterday is a promise that you've broken.' – Switchfoot

Spoilers: Day 3, 7-8 P.M.

Standard disclaimers apply.

Original Character Bios: Liz Rycoff, after surviving the first two days, no longer works at CTU. Instead, she took over Mason's position after he died, in order to protect CTU from another annoying bureaucratic panic, but she's not really qualified. Still, she soldiers on. Liz was close friends with Mason, but now all she really has left is Jack. The two of them started a relationship about a year after Day 2, but it's kind of going slowly. She also had a failed non-relationship of sorts with Tony between Day 1 and Day 2, and Tony's intervention made Liz realize that in trying to save everyone, she ended up getting lost.

  
David Taylor is Liz's assistant, ex-field ops himself. Smart, full of sardonic humor, and generally a stand-up guy, he has been there for her even when she's never asked. He has taken the term literally, making it his job to know everything about her, to be everything she needs him to be, and to stay with her like a loyal retriever. Having worked with her for three years now, he has become a friend of hers especially as she goes through days without Jack around to help her.

Dedication: Kiefer Sutherland and Carlos Bernard, who have become two wonderful characters that I can play off of and find infinite possibilities within.

Recommended Listening: "This Is Your Life" by Switchfoot; "White Flag" by Dido

_7:59 P.M._

Chappelle's next question was, "Does Rycoff know?"

Elisabeth Rycoff sat perched on her former workstation at CTU, her assistant David Taylor sitting quietly in her chair with his hand on her shoulder. When Chappelle had come to relieve her of temporary command of CTU, he had pulled her aside and asked her if she knew about Jack Bauer's drug addiction. He had been surprised, to say the least, to hear her deny it without batting an eyelash or missing a beat. She had been Jack's confidante and comrade for a decade, and the rumor went around that the two of them were lovers these days, not to mention that she had been his direct boss for the last two years. She was supposed to know everything about the man.

Tony shook his head. "No. He asked us not to bring her into it."

"Well, I think it's time she found out."

Almeida arched an eyebrow. "Ryan, do you know what she would do if she found out?"

"If she's anything like him, she'd throw a fit." Chappelle didn't waver, much to Tony's frustration. "But I've got enough personal problems around this office already, and she'll throw a bigger tantrum if you don't tell her now, so I'd get out there and break the news while she might leave the building standing."

As much as he hated to admit it, Tony knew that the bureaucrat was inherently correct. He just didn't relish having to be the one to tell Liz that Jack had been lying to her. He knew what that would do to her, and he had been through enough with her to know it could be the death of her, because her response would be something fierce. Something not very different from what Jack might do, were he in the same situation. The irony stung as he pushed his way out of the interrogation room.

"Liz," he called, and watched her turn around from looking over Adam's shoulder. "I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, sure, Tony." She excused herself from her conversation and came walking over toward him. He took a look at her as she approached. She had been up since nine that morning or so, he figured, and she was tired, but her eyes showed a fire that came from her deep reserve of passion about the people she worked with. Liz was a team player concerned about everyone, too much so, in fact. That was the one thing that bothered him about her: she'd go down when she didn't have to. He wondered if she'd do that again now. He might have been the one shot, but he knew she was having the worse day. "What do you need? Is there anything…"

He put up a hand to stop her. "I'm fine. Come with me for a second." Ignoring the piqued look on her face, Tony lead Liz upstairs, toward Jack's office. He could see her tense up already, and knew this wasn't going to be anywhere near easy. If she got her hands on an object, he might be seeing that ER doctor again yet – not like she'd intentionally hit him, but she'd try to hit something. "There's something that you need to know," he started slowly. "Something we didn't tell you before."

"We? Tell me what?" Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's going on today isn't what it looks like, Liz." He held her gaze, trying to communicate to her that this wasn't easy for him either and that he understood what she must be going through, for whatever good that might do. "Gael and I had been working with Jack in order to get him back undercover with the Salazars, and we just got the signal that he's in."

"What?" Liz blinked. "You mean … Tony, you mean to tell me that he's voluntarily back there? That he did all this … what he did to Kim, to me, what he did to himself…"

"…He knew what it meant doing, what it meant giving up." Tony cut her off. "But it was something we all thought about very carefully, and this was the best option."

"Oh, really." Her laugh was unamused. "Betraying the President, betraying his daughter – she thinks he's a liar and a wreck – betraying the partner that idolizes him, betraying me after he knows damn well what that does to me, risking his life, risking screwing himself up even more, this was the best we could do?" She folded her arms across her chest. "I refuse to accept that."

"You're going to have to. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"No, Tony. There's something." And as he watched, as she kept her eyes firmly locked on his, she produced her cell phone and hit a speed-dial button. The line was picked up instantly, and he recognized Chase's voice. Liz didn't ever falter. "Chase, it's Liz. I need you to hold the plane. Yeah, I understand. I'll be there in 20 minutes and I will explain. I'll see you then." She clicked off, ignoring the stunned look on Tony's face.

"You can't do that," he told her. "You go in there, you could compromise him, not to mention, how the hell are you even going to get in there, just show up?"

"I'll figure out a way on the plane. And I can do this. Chappelle will let me." She glared at him. "He lied to me, Tony. That's what pisses me off. He knows I would understand because this is the way things get done. But he did two things he swore he'd never do: lie to me and leave me. So now it's time for me to make a choice." With that, she turned to go.

"What choice is that?" he called after her. "Whether you get yourself killed or not?"

She shook her head with a certain amount of sadness. "How the story ends. Because it's ending." On the landing, she pivoted on her heel. "Now get yourself back into Interrogation One. That's an order."

He kept his mouth shut – there was no reasoning with her now. She had gone from being his friend to being his boss, and he had made her make that choice. Instead, he followed her down the stairs, listening to her call for Adam, for David, and tell them to follow her. Each man did as he was told. They could tell the look in her eyes, the one that meant there was no changing her mind. For better or for worse, this was what was left, and only she would suffer the consequences.

Liz, Tony, Adam, David, Chappelle and Gael made a strange mix of company in Interrogation One. Tony was still agitated about Liz's decision. The torture had only started to wear off on Gael. Adam really had no idea what was going on. David hovered over Liz as if he thought that something big was going to happen, and nobody bothered to tell him how right he was. Chappelle folded his hands in his lap and looked them all over before he spoke.

"Liz, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

Tony cut in: "How can you let her…"

"Because it's her life to waste," Chappelle snapped, then continued, "Once you walk out of here, you're on your own."

"I understand that, Ryan." Liz nodded. "But you and I know that I know Jack better than anyone, and Chase is going to need somebody to hold him back, and I'm being wasted sitting here. That's all it comes down to." She glanced at Tony and Gael. "You have 10 minutes. I want to be fully briefed. Adam, I'll need you to get me ready. David, give him a hand – I have a change of clothes in Jack's office that I'm going to need."

Adam left the room and came back with an equipment case as Liz slipped out of the suit jacket, unclipping the SigArm and its holster from her belt. She would have to divest herself of anything that could be linked back to CTU. Tony and Gael quickly explained to her the gist of the operation, but Tony still wasn't happy with the situation. "What's your plan in there?" he asked Liz. She exhaled. "My plan is whatever Jack's plan is. To help him and get him home. He mentioned a girlfriend in his cover, so I can fit right in." 

Tony nodded. "But what about Chase?"

"I'll discuss that with him en route. Presumably, somebody I worked with in order to help me locate Jack. I want it to be something he's comfortable with." She glanced around at the other people in the room. "If any of you aren't ready to do this, you should leave the room while you have the chance."

Nobody flinched. It was too late to turn around now.

-Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead  
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken  
Don't close your eyes  
Don't close your eyes-

Adam handed Liz a phone, explaining, "That's encrypted. Use it and I'll be able to pick it up back at my station. There's a spare battery." 

She nodded, laying it down on the table next to the backpack David had brought back from Jack's office. "I'm going to need a weapon," she said, "one that can't be traced back to me. Not a standard service weapon." 

He didn't miss a beat. "We can get the numbers filed off and all that. It shouldn't take long."

David reached down and unclipped his holster from his belt. "Take mine. It's the same one I've been using since I was with the CIA, but it's never been in officer service – I had it specially selected from the armory." 

He handed it over to Adam, who took a look at it. "SigArm Trailside Competition. Yeah, it's made more for accuracy than firepower. Shouldn't be a problem." With those words, the technician set to work removing any telltale signs on the weapon.

Liz reached for the backpack. "I'm going to go and change. When I get back we'll take care of the gear." She slipped off her seat on the interrogation table and started for the door. "David, I need you to come with me, we need to talk." 

He nodded and followed her out, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind them. As he walked with her, he knew this was one of the moments he had been waiting for all his life. He was here to support her, and now she was about to accomplish something great. Knowing her as he did, David knew this was what she was meant to do, and he was only meant to follow.  
  
-This is your life and today is all you've got now  
And today is all you'll ever have  
Don't close your eyes  
Don't close your eyes-

Moments later, Liz checked herself in the bathroom mirror: jeans, a button-down black long-sleeve shirt left open over a black V-neck T-shirt, a light black jacket she would throw on over that once she got out into the chill of the night. She looked much darker and much more out of place, but then again, she had only kept this change of clothes in case she had been at CTU during a crisis, and they were meant to take damage, not to look good. She pulled out the studs in her ears – no sense giving anyone a chance to use them against her – readjusted the chain bracelet on her left wrist and her watch on her right, and pushed out the door. True to form, David was waiting there for her. It took him a moment to get used to her looking that way.

"What did you need to talk about?" he said quietly. Only he would never question her. He knew that she didn't want to be and certainly didn't need to be questioned now, and he had always been unequivocally on her side. Being reminded of that made her smile, but the smile soon faded.

"With me gone, there's not going to be anyone here for Kim," she told him. "I need somebody to be here for her. She still thinks her dad's somebody she doesn't know, and it's not my call as to whether or not she ever gets told, and if she does it's only going to be worse. She'll need somebody to talk to, and I need somebody to protect her. I trust you with her life, David."

He nodded, swallowing as the enormity of her faith in him hit him one more time. "I'll take care of her," he said. "You have my word on that." 

Liz smiled slightly. "Thank you, David. You've done a hell of a lot for me," she told him as the two of them turned and started walking back toward the interrogation room. "I have no idea how I'm ever going to repay you."

"You don't have to," he said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But you could start by coming back to me."

"I'll do what I can."

He smiled. "That's how it always starts with you, isn't it?"

She didn't answer, just opened the door and went back to what was waiting there for her. It wasn't just a briefing, it wasn't just a mission, no, for Liz Rycoff it was a covenant, a chance to set things right with the man she loved. It was personal, there was no shame in admitting that. The Salazars would have to answer for what they had done to her world. And the man she was chasing would have to answer for what he had done to her. She didn't know which was the hardest part.  
  
-This is your life  
Are you who you want to be  
This is your life  
Are you who you want to be  
This is your life  
Is it everything you dreamed that it would be  
When the world was younger   
And you had everything to lose-

Liz pocketed the cell phone and clipped the holster with the newly altered weapon to her belt. No doubt the Salazars would check her for a weapon, but she figured they probably all had them and she would feel marginally safer with one. At least it was a weapon similar to the one she knew how to handle. She took one last look around the room, hoping to memorize faces, for she knew that when she came back, if she came back, they would no doubt be different people than the ones they were now.

"Ryan, you can take control of things here?" she asked. Chappelle nodded. "It's already done. You need to go."

"I'm going." Her eyes flicked to Adam. "When I walk out of here, phone Chase, tell him I'm on my way."

"You got it." Adam nodded. "Be careful out there."

"I always try to be." Liz moved across the room and put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Listen, I know you don't approve, but this is something I have to do if I'm ever going to come out of this all right. Can you understand that?"

He nodded. "Nobody said I had to like what you did with your life, Liz. But knowing you, I expected you'd chase him to the end of the earth. Just don't do anything you'll regret."

"I have a lot of regrets, Tony," she told him. "I don't plan on having more. Say goodbye to Michelle for me."

With those words, she walked out of the room, David trailing her. The CTU bullpen was still moving at breakneck speed, not even realizing what was happening behind its own closed doors. Liz scanned the room one last time, then headed straight for where Kim was still sitting, still waiting for everything to make sense. She couldn't leave until this part – in some ways, the hardest part – of her departure was done.  
  
-Yesterday is a kid in the corner  
Yesterday is dead and over-

"Liz, what's going on?" Kim asked her as she approached, looking Liz over and knowing something was different. Liz exhaled. "I've got to go. I'm hooking up with Chase to go track down your dad." The younger woman looked a bit startled – her boyfriend and her longtime friend on the same dangerous mission? "Are you sure that's safe?"

"No, but it's something I've got to do," Liz told her. "But David is going to be here for you if you need anything, and he'll make sure you know what's going on out there. You know me, I don't leave you in the dark."

Kim nodded. "Please be careful," she said. The wellspring of fear was understandable – she'd already lost her mother, thought she'd lost her father, had two broken relationships, and now her boyfriend and the woman that had always been there were walking away from her. "I will," Liz promised, "and I'm going to do all I can to get us out of this." She reached over and hugged Kim goodbye, hoping it wasn't the last time she ever saw her. It wouldn't be fair for things to end like this.

After a moment, she broke away. David had his car keys in his hand already, and the two of them started for the double doors of CTU, not wasting a second. Buttoning his jacket against the cold, her assistant glanced over at her, attempting to get a final read on her. When he looked into her eyes, he saw that Liz wasn't there with them anymore. She was already looking forward, trying to figure out what she would do. What she would say to the man she loved, who had hurt her so grievously and, despite the nobility of it, been forced to do it again. It was not a reunion he envied her, he decided as he stuck the keys in the ignition of the Altima and drove to the airfield.

"This is a truly brave thing to do," he said, partly just to break the silence. "I'm proud of you for doing this."

"You don't have to compliment me, David." She exhaled. "I'm doing this because it's necessary. Somebody has to take a stand today instead of waiting. And Jack is going to need some help down there. The last time he came out of this like he'd been through hell and I don't want him to have to do that again." Then she paused, hesitating long enough that he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "And part of me is doing this because I have to go down there and find him and decide if it's really worth it for me to be doing this."

He inhaled for a second. Through everything, Liz had never doubted Jack Bauer. The second day had been hard on her, though, and she had made him realize that, made him understand that. Her faith in what he could do was still there. It was her faith in her ability to take the fallout that was wavering. He took a hand off the steering wheel and reached for hers. "This is who you are," he told her, knowing it to be true. "This is what you do. Without you, who would we have left?"

She didn't answer.  
  
-This is your life  
Are you who you want to be  
This is your life  
Are you who you want to be  
This is your life  
Is it everything you dreamed that it would be  
When the world was younger  
And you had everything to lose-

Chase was already on the plane when David sped onto the scene. Liz stepped out of the car, spotting Jack's partner standing in the doorway waiting for her, and gave him a quick hand signal. He nodded and turned to go. Liz circled around the Altima and took one long look at David. He had followed her everywhere, and now he had the sympathetic-disappointed look of a loyal retriever whose owners were headed off on vacation. She chuckled humorlessly under her breath. That might be apt if vacation was likely to make you end up dead. 

Without time to say anything, she simply embraced him, feeling him rest his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes, trying to not make this the last moment he ever remembered her for, despite the likelihood that he'd recall the ending of Casablanca. He kissed her on the cheek, then clapped her on the shoulder, sending her off with his blessing. She knew he'd be leaning against the car, watching her go until the plane took off, and tried not to let that sadness weigh her down as she stepped onto the waiting jet.

"Hope I didn't hold you up too long," she told Chase as the both of them crossed to seats. He checked his watch. "No, you were actually three minutes early." She chuckled. "Not like you were counting or anything," she said as they buckled themselves up. He'd already loaded his gear into the overhead compartments, he told her, then he asked, "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"You expected me to sit home and score the game, Chase?" she quipped, then sobered up. "I think I owe Jack enough that I should finish this." He nodded, understanding that sentiment. "We'll finish it," he said, sounding more confident than he felt. The plane shuddered underneath them as it began to taxi.

Liz leaned back in her seat, feeling David's handgun pushing against her waist and the weight of the cell phone in her pocket. It seemed ludicrous to show up to fight an armada of drug dealers with a phone and a gun with two clips, and yet, it was the only way she knew how to do things. Jack had taught her how things got done. Now it was her turn to reverse the situation and see what happened next. Damned if she would let everything fall any further.

She knew that she had a job to save the day, and she knew that this was risking it, despite it being the best way to accomplish that end. She knew that she was going into a dangerous place, and she knew that she was lying to herself and to Chase, despite everything seeming so black and white in her mind. She knew that she loved Jack, and she knew that he had betrayed her, despite it being for a good cause.

She didn't know what was next, and she didn't care.


End file.
